Technology Advisory Research Articles

Reconstructive Microsurgery in the COVID-19 Environment.

SummaryThe COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges to the plastic surgery field. Substantial changes have been incorporated in hospital and practice protocols in all branches of medicine. Organic medical teams were placed on scheduled shifts to prevent cross-infection, and some working teams were discontinued. Remote technology consultations and deliberations were instituted in hospitals and community medical services to maintain the flow of information on patient status. Several mitigation strategies were implemented during these times throughout medical facilities. We present those implemented in our facility to ensure adequate labor, resources, and facilities along with proper protocols for patient selection and management according to predetermined risk assessment criteria with the hope to assist the healthcare staff to minimize mortality risks.

Learning Ecosystem using New Normal Active Administrative Innovation in Thai Society

: Learning ecosystem has been using in educational context in different areas to enhance the development of leaning ability in current situation. The purpose of this article was to propose learning ecosystem using new normal active administrative innovation in Thai society. Documentary study and qualitative research synthesis were used for the study. Results showed that 1) there are four aspects to consider of setting learning ecosystem that consisted of learning differently, supportive collaborative learning, self-directed learning, and thinking utilization. 2) New normal active administrative innovation is an active administration applying constructivism concept that consisted of knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. The nature of innovation should have relative advantage, compatibility, less complexity, divisibility, and visibility. 3) e-Learning Ecosystem will be applied in new normal active administrative innovation with 3 aspects consisted of (1) content providers offer content for learning solutions that is linked to competency development and personal development, (2) consultants which are strategy consultant, compensation consultant, information technology consultants, and implementation consultants, and (3) Infrastructure which are learning content management system, content delivery system and tools. Learning ecosystem is not started from how teacher design the lesson, but it will start from acceptance the difference of learners, teachers, parents, and community by performing roles of giving and taking knowledge from learners on supportive collaborative learning

Converging on mutual harmony of knowledge-based expert system and technology consultant

In the Society 5.0, the adoption of advanced technologies in many fields has large positive impacts on the way people think and behave as well as how the companies provide services for any other businesses. In adopting new technology, however, the businesses require significant efforts and deep insights on how to implement such technology that offers large benefits for their businesses. This attempt is typically in line with the one conducted by many consulting firms which provide solution services on how the new innovation and technologies can be implemented and aligned with business goals. With regards to that, this paper focuses on the implementation of a knowledge-based expert system as a technology consultant to recommend suitable technological solutions in supporting the existing teaching and learning activities at educational institutions. A number of tasks have been executed in the research in order to build a reliable expert system, such as properly using design knowledge ontology, formulating if-then rules and reasoning, expert system structure and user interface, and so forth. The resulting knowledge-based expert system demonstrates promising performance and permits to its integration with machine learning techniques for automated knowledge acquisition. This knowledge-based expert system can be a mutual supports in harmony to the human consultants on providing their technology consultancy services.

Reimagining The Internet With Edge Computing

Abstract Blesson Varghese, Associate Professor in computer science at Queen's University Belfast and Flavio Bonomi, Founder of Nebbiolo Technologies and Board Technology Adviser for LYNX, explore how edge computing could foster a more ethical and fairer internet.

Accomplishments of Tea Research in Uganda in the Year 2019

Tea is Uganda’s third most important export earner and oscillates between coffee and fish. The current production in the country is 59,000 tonnes of made tea per year, earning 104 million United States Dollars to the Uganda’s economy. Despite its importance to Uganda, the tea sector is faced with a number of constraints that include rising production costs, age of tea bushes, high overhead costs, poor agronomic agricultural practices, pests and diseases, low genetic potential, poor seed system, low labour productivity,and climate change. Since the collapse of Tea Research Institute of East Africa, tea research in Uganda has been dormant for three decades, due to limitations in tea experts, finance, and infrastructure. This review paper highlights the current tea research accomplishments made with the help of government of Uganda Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Service (ATAAS) funding. These endeavors include: a) Genetic structure of tea diversity in Uganda has been determined, b) Characterization of tea clones with desirable attributes initiated, c) Soil nutrient up take of tea clones has been determined, d) Screening tea clones for resistance to Xylaria and Armillaria diseases and e) Tea dissemination material accomplished. This paper further spells out the future perspective and strategic intervention of tea research in Uganda.

Pilot Visual Detection of Small Unmanned Aircraft on Final Approach during Nighttime Conditions

In December 2020, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the release of a new final rule, permitting operators of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) to perform routine night operations. Public comments to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking indicated potential safety concerns regarding a pilot’s ability to spot a low-altitude sUAS during nighttime conditions. Leveraging data from the FAA’s UAS Sighting Report Database, the research team evaluated the significance of aircraft encounters with UAS at night. Researchers conducted an inflight experiment in which 10 pilots performed an instrument approach to airport during nighttime conditions in which a multi-rotor sUAS presented a potential collision hazard. The sUAS was equipped with lighting visible for 3 miles with a sufficient flash rate to avoid a collision, as specified by the new regulation. Participants performed five approaches, with the sUAS flying different scripted encounter profiles. Participants were asked to indicate when they visually spotted the sUAS, with sighting data recorded via an onboard observer. Geolocation information from both the aircraft and sUAS were compared at the time of each reported sighting to assess visibility distance and orientation. The sUAS was successfully spotted during 30 percent (n = 12) of the testing passes. Hovering sUAS were spotted at the same rate as moving sUAS, however, sUAS in motion were spotted at a much greater range. Researchers noted disproportionately higher spotting rates occurred when the sUAS was oriented on the starboard side of the aircraft vs. the port side. It is believed that airport lighting systems may have obscured or otherwise camouflaged portside sUAS encounters. When asked to estimate distance to an encountered sUAS, most participants underestimated, perceiving the sUAS to be much closer than reality. Additionally, the researchers assessed the potential for the participants to initiate evasive maneuvers, based on the distance and closure rate of the aircraft and sUAS at the time of sighting. Based on the FAA’s Aircraft Identification and Reaction Time Chart, collision avoidance would only have been successful during 15 percent of encounters (n = 6). The research team recommends Remote Pilots employ vigilant traffic awareness during nighttime operations, and leverage use of ADS-B (In) technology and monitor Common Traffic Advisory Frequencies to maintain situational awareness—particularly when operating in proximity to airports.

Automated Hiring at Amazon

In this fictionalized case, the protagonist is the director of talent and recruitment at Amazon and had been in charge of developing an artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tool that could shape the future of recruiting practices throughout the world. However, she begins to question the ethical implications of this tool. While the employees hired via this AI tool were performing exceptionally well, almost all of them were male, and she wonders how the tool she had helped create led to this result. There was no way to get around the fact that the hiring tool was gender biased, and the options are limited. The company could continue to use the tool as it currently existed, undoubtedly leading to a promotion for the protagonist. Or she could insist that Amazon invest more into the research and development of the AI tool, in hopes of creating an unbiased product. However, this option would be exorbitantly expensive in terms of both time and money and would reflect poorly on her efforts to produce this tool. A third option was for Amazon to scrap the AI hiring program altogether and return to traditional methods. The use of AI and automation was controversial, so perhaps showing the public that Amazon was putting people first would improve the company's image. The protagonist had to make a recommendation to senior management soon, and was uncertain what that should be. Excerpt UVA-E-0470 Feb. 2, 2021 Automated Hiring at Amazon It was 2:00 p.m., and you were sitting at your desk preparing for the meeting that could make or break your career. In your six short months at Amazon as director of talent and recruitment, you had been in charge of developing an artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tool that could shape the future of recruiting practices throughout the world. The tool, which had been piloted at Amazon Crystal City for the past quarter, had the ability to process thousands of resumes in minutes and flag the most qualified candidates. You had a meeting with Chuck Mudd, your boss and director of human resources at Amazon Crystal City, at 3:00 p.m. to evaluate the tool's performance and discuss next steps. As an African-American businesswoman and graduate from the Wharton School of Business, you knew the importance of hard work to succeed, especially in a male-dominated sector. After a long and successful career as a business technology consultant at McKinsey & Company, you had decided to shift career paths when you saw an opening for director of talent and recruitment at Amazon's second headquarters. Mudd had been especially impressed by your business-technology background and your ideas around automating Amazon's hiring process. Shortly after the start of your contract, Mudd gave you the green light to work alongside Arthur Mortimer, Amazon's AI director, to develop a tool to automate the rsum-review process. Mudd gave you free reign to determine the specifications of the bot, and proposed a one-quarter trial period for it. If it produced successful results, he promised a nice bonus and potential promotion. In developing the rsum-processing software, Mortimer fed the bot real resumes of tens of thousands of Amazon applicants, some of whom had been hired and some of whom had not. The bot learned the key qualities of the strongest rsums, such as the best universities, past position titles, and verbs associated with strong accomplishments. . . .

Factors Influencing Cloud Computing Adoption in Higher Education Institutions of Least Developed Countries: Evidence from Republic of Yemen

Cloud-based technology, which is now well established, helps in reducing costs and providing accessibility, reliability and flexibility. However, the Yemen higher educational institutions (HEIs) have not yet embraced the technology due to security and privacy concerns, lack of trust, negative cultural attitudes (i.e., tribalism), and most importantly, lack of digital devices experience in educational settings as well as lack of knowledge and technical know-how. Thus, this study proposes a conceptual model of cloud computing adoption in Yemen HEIs by investigating the influence of technology, organization and environment (TOE) factors. In addition, this study investigates the moderating effect of tribalism culture in the relationships between the identified factors and cloud computing adoption. The study employed the quantitative approach to determine the factors that influence cloud computing adoption in Yemen HEIs through a questionnaire survey. Data were collected from 328 respondents in 38 HEIs and analyzed using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM). The results indicate that relative advantage, reliability, compatibility, security, technology readiness, top management support, regulatory policy and competitive pressure have positive significant impacts on the cloud computing adoption, except tribalism culture with negative significant impact. The study also found that tribalism culture moderates the relationship between compatibility, reliability, security, relative advantage, regulatory policy and cloud computing adoption. This study contributes to the TOE adoption model by including the cultural factor as a moderator towards cloud computing adoption in Yemen HEIs. The study also provides a model and insights for HEIs, technology consultants, vendors and policy makers in better understanding of the factors that influence cloud computing adoption in least developed countries (LDCs), specifically, Yemen.

Digital process chains for patient specific medical devices

Abstract The Medical Technology Advisory Committee of the VDI Society develops a guideline for the implementation of digital process chains for patient-specific medical devices. The underlying medical device constitutes the basis for each individualized medical device. It serves as the development framework for manufacturing.

Use of virtual consultations in an orthopaedic rehabilitation setting: how do changes in the work of being a patient influence patient preferences? A systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

ObjectivesTo systematically review qualitative studies reporting the use of virtual consultations within an orthopaedic rehabilitation setting and to understand how its use changes the work required of patients.MethodsFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement, we conducted a systematic review of papers to answer the research question ‘How do changes in the work of being a patient when using communication technology influence patient preferences?’ Electronic databases were searched for studies meeting the inclusion criteria in April 2020.ResultsThe search strategy identified 2057 research articles from the database search. A review of titles and abstracts using the inclusion criteria yielded 21 articles for full-text review. Nine studies were included in the final analysis. Six studies explored real-time video conferencing and three explored telephone consultations. The use of communication technology changes the work required of patients. Such changes will impact on expectations for care, resources required of patients, the environment of receiving care and patient–clinician interactions. This adjustment of the work required of patients who access orthopaedic rehabilitation using communication technology will impact on their experience of receiving care. It is proposed that changes in the work of being a patient will influence preferences for or against the use of communication technology consultations for orthopaedic rehabilitation.ConclusionWe found that the use of communication technology changes the work of being a patient. The change in work required of patients can be both burdensome (it makes it harder for patients to access their care) and beneficial (it makes it easier for patients to access their care). This change will likely to influence preferences. Keeping the concept of patient work at the heart of pathway redesign is likely to be a key consideration to ensure successful implementation.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42018100896.

Growing Digital Roots: A Community of Practice Approach to Technology‐Infused Graduate Student Development

AbstractThis chapter describes a program where graduate students serve as instructional technology consultants on educational projects that enhance the student‐learning experience. In the process, they develop skills to prepare them for a variety of academic and professional settings.

Driving and Restraining Forces: Toward the Marketization of Broadcast News in the United Kingdom in the 1990s

Television news broadcasting evolved rapidly in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. All aspects of the newscast changed and broadcasting became properly marketized. There were clear societal driving and restraining forces at play in the UK during this time. Key driving forces, including competition, new technology, and American consultants spurred on television news development. Restraining forces, such as a resistance to change, money, unions and a fear of Americanization slowed down development. The 1991 Independent Television franchise auction and the privatization movement were both driving and restraining forces. Rich data were derived from primary sources, in particular archival material from the Frank N. Magid Associates European archives and in-depth interviews with Magid staff and UK journalists active in the 1990s.

Novel delivery of cellular therapy to reduce ischemia reperfusion injury in kidney transplantation.

Ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) of donor kidneys prior to transplantation provides a platform for direct delivery of cellular therapeutics to optimize organ quality prior to transplantation. Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells (MAPC® ) possess potent immunomodulatory properties that could minimize ischemia reperfusion injury. We investigated the potential capability of MAPC cells in kidney NMP. Pairs (5) of human kidneys, from the same donor, were simultaneously perfused for 7 hours. Kidneys were randomly allocated to receive MAPC treatment or control. Serial samples of perfusate, urine, and tissue biopsies were taken for comparison. MAPC-treated kidneys demonstrated improved urine output (P=.009), decreased expression of injury biomarker NGAL (P=.012), improved microvascular perfusion on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (cortex P=.019, medulla P=.001), downregulation of interleukin (IL)-1β (P=.050), and upregulation of IL-10 (P<.047) and Indolamine-2, 3-dioxygenase (P=.050). A chemotaxis model demonstrated decreased neutrophil recruitment when stimulated with perfusate from MAPC-treated kidneys (P<.001). Immunofluorescence revealed prelabeled MAPC cells in the perivascular space of kidneys during NMP. We report the first successful delivery of cellular therapy to a human kidney during NMP. Kidneys treated with MAPC cells demonstrate improvement in clinically relevant parameters and injury biomarkers. This novel method of cell therapy delivery provides an exciting opportunity to recondition organs prior to transplantation.

The Impact of Domestic Technology Transfer on Innovation Capacity of High-tech Industry: An Analysis Based on the Technology Transaction in China

In order to investigate whether and how domestic technology transfer affects the innovation capacity of provincial high-tech industries in China, we measure innovation efficiency and estimated the influencing effects with stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). A two-period knowledge production function is identified, and the innovation efficiency is broken down into development efficiency and transformation efficiency. The empirical result shows that technology development transaction and technology service transaction have a significant positive relationship with development efficiency and transformation efficiency respectively. Technology consultation transaction is negative related to development efficiency and technology transfer transaction have no significant influence on transformation efficiency. The innovation points include: an analytical model of the impact of domestic technology transfer on the two-period capacity of innovation is constructed; we break through the limitations of extant researches that pay too much attention on foreign technology transfer but neglect the domestic way; and we explore the effects of different transfer forms on innovation capacity during different periods of innovation process. The research results are of great value to activate the domestic knowledge stock and would help to promote the domestic technology transaction between areas. It is also important reference to policy-making for developing country which focus on promoting high-tech industry’s innovation capacity by technology transfer.

New books &amp; media

New books &amp; media

Googling Allergy in Ireland: Content Analysis.

BackgroundInternet search engines are increasingly being utilized as the first port of call for medical information by the public. The prevalence of allergies in developed countries has risen steadily over time. There exists significant variability in the quality of health-related information available on the web. Inaccurately diagnosed and mismanaged allergic disease has major downstream effects on patients, general practitioners, and regional allergy services.ObjectiveThis study aimed to verify whether Ireland has a relatively high rate of web-based allergy-related searches, to establish the proportion of medically accurate web pages encountered by the public, and to compare current search results localized to Dublin, Ireland with urban centers elsewhere.MethodsGoogle Trends was used to evaluate regional interest of allergy-related search terms over a 10-year period using terms “allergy,” “allergy test,” “food allergy,” and “food intolerance.” These terms were then inputted into Google search, localizing them to cities in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Output for each search was reviewed by two independent clinicians and deemed rational or nonevidence based, as per current best practice guidelines. Searches localized to Dublin were initially completed in 2015 and repeated in 2019 to assess for changes in the quality of search results over time.ResultsIreland has a persistently high demand for web-based information relating to allergy and ranks first worldwide for “allergy test,” second for “food allergy” and “food intolerance,” and seventh for “allergy” over the specified 10-year timeframe. Results for each of the four subsearches in Dublin (2015) showed that over 60% of websites promoted nonevidence-based diagnostics. A marginal improvement in scientifically robust information was seen in 2019, but results for “allergy test” and “food intolerance” continued to promote alternative testing 57% (8/14) of the time. This strongly contrasted with results localized to Southampton and Rochester, where academic and hospital-affiliated web pages predominantly featured. Government-funded Department of Health websites did not feature in the top five results for Dublin searches “allergy testing,” “food allergy,” or “food intolerance” in either 2015 or 2019.ConclusionsThe Irish public demonstrates a keen interest in seeking allergy-related information on the web. The proportion of evidence-based websites encountered by the Irish public is considerably lower than that encountered by patients in other urban centers. Factors contributing to this are the lack of a specialist register for allergy in Ireland, inadequate funding for allergy centers currently in operation, and insufficient promotion by the health service of their web-based health database, which contains useful patient-oriented information on allergy. Increased funding of clinical allergology services will more meaningfully impact the health of patients if there is a parallel investment by the health service in information and communication technology consultancy to amplify their presence on the web.

Feeling proud but guilty? Unpacking the paradoxical nature of unethical pro-organizational behavior

Integrating appraisal theories of emotion and the literature of self-conscious emotion, we argue that UPB has a paradoxical nature that can lead to ambivalent emotional reactions, with implications for subsequent behavior. On the one hand, because UPB benefits one’s organization, it should trigger feelings of pride. However, given its unethical nature, UPB should also trigger feelings of guilt. Using an experience sampling study of 91 customer-service agent dyads in the technology consultancy industry, we find that daily UPB is positively associated with daily pride and guilt. These emotions in turn lead to increased citizenship behavior directed towards the organization and customers, respectively. We replicate these findings with another experience sampling study of 78 triads (focal employees, co-workers, and customers) in the financial service industry. More importantly, we find that service employees’ guilt proneness moderates the link between daily UPB and pride, such that UPB leads to heightened feelings of pride especially when the service employees have lower levels of guilt proneness. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our work.

Commentary: on the under-valuing of Australia’s expertise in drylands research and practice globally

Global drylands are a significant driver of earth system processes that affect the world’s common resources such as the climate. Their peoples are also among the first to be widely affected by global changes such as land degradation and climate change. Yet drylands are a source of many social and technical innovations, globally, as well as in Australia. As a major developed dryland nation, Australia has previously played a major role in extending these innovations to the rest of the world. The nation has reaped reputational and commercial benefits through major research and practice contributions to dryland agriculture, water management and governance, remote area services, indigenous partnerships, dryland monitoring systems, and ‘desert knowledge’ innovation. Australian researchers continue to contribute to various relevant international processes, yet recognition and support for this within Australia has dropped off markedly in recent years. We analyse the Australian government’s investment in research and in overseas aid for drylands over the last two decades, and explore trends in government’s active involvement in major international processes related to land. These trends are short-sighted, overlooking potential economic benefits for Australian enterprises, and undermining Australia’s stance and scientific leadership in dryland systems globally. In this commentary, we argue that it is time for the trends to be reversed, as this is an area of comparative advantage for Australian diplomacy with significant returns on investment for Australia, both direct and indirect, especially when most emerging economies contain substantial drylands. We identify four major pathways to obtaining benefits from science diplomacy, and four interrelated actions within Australia to enable these – to place a higher emphasis on science diplomacy, to re-forge a bipartisan recognition of Australian drylands expertise, to establish a dedicated Dryland Information Hub, and to create a network of relevant science and technology advisors.

Maximize Event Outreach With a Technology Advisory Council

The Membership Management ReportVolume 16, Issue 1 p. 3-3 Reach New Audiences Maximize Event Outreach With a Technology Advisory Council First published: 09 December 2019 https://doi.org/10.1002/mmr.31372Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume16, Issue1January 2020Pages 3-3 RelatedInformation

NIH Guidelines April 2019.

Following the required review period initiated in August 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), published the final changes to the Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) in April 2019. This amendment focused on the review, registration, and reporting requirements for human gene transfer studies. In addition, the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) was renamed the Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee (NeXTRAC) to serve as an advisory body on emerging technologies.